Tom DeLay: Obama Is a 'Muslim Sympathizer'

The reason for President Barack Obama's lackluster response to rising terrorist threats against the United States is that he is a "Muslim sympathizer," former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says.

"Obama was raised as a Muslim for most of his childhood, so he is a Muslim sympathizer, and so that is also acting against us," DeLay, a Republican and former Texas congressman, said Tuesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

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"This is about terrorists that want to kill Americans and destroy our way of life, and it's a war on terror. It will be a war for many, many more years.

"There are people that want to kill us, and if we can identify them and locate them, we need to kill them . . . This president is using every excuse in the book to keep from doing something that will protect Americans in the homeland."

DeLay's comments came as the extremist group Islamic State (ISIS) released a video purportedly showing the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff. Last month, another journalist, James Foley, was beheaded.

"Sotloff and Foley have been in captivity for over two years, and no one seems to have paid attention to them," DeLay said.

"[The president] knows we are putting our people in very dangerous situations. He knows that we're less safe today than we've been since he's taken office, and yet he doesn't do anything. It's scary, if it wasn't so infuriating."

DeLay urged Congress to pressure the commander in chief into action against ISIS.

"If nothing else, they can give him political cover to do something," he said.